Ford (No. 4 prospect) gives back in a big way

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer's Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Much of Harry Ford's identity is rooted in baseball, but the Mariners’ promising young catcher is also a true humanitarian at heart, constantly seeking opportunities to help those in need on and off the field.

Ford’s latest philanthropic endeavor was among his most ambitious, a five-day mission trip to Peru in January to help bring clean water to those without access to the basic human need.

"It just blew my mind to think that that was a reality for most people,” the 22-year-old told MLB.com.

Through Pro Athletes Outreach -- a community of Christians that he’s involved with, most of which play baseball, football or hockey -- Ford was seeking opportunities to give back this winter. He felt most drawn to an organization called Water Mission, a Christian engineering nonprofit based out of South Carolina that builds safe water solutions for people in developing countries, refugee camps and disaster areas.

Since its inception in 2001, Water Mission has served more than 8 million people in 60 countries, according to its website.

“It just really drew my spirit,” Ford said. “It was just about the fact that there are people out there who don't have the basic necessity of water. And I just love how they do it -- like, they not only are just trying to help fix a good water, but also bring the gospel there, too. So it was like both things that really spoke to me.”

Ford, the Mariners’ No. 4 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 64 overall, was part of a group that voyaged through four communities in Peru -- the first had virtually no access to clean water and the final had received infrastructure support from Water Mission to become self-sustainable. The effort was more about surveying areas that could benefit from their contributions with intention to return.

The experience was sobering.

"It was polluted with bacteria, with parasites, and it was getting the people sick,” Ford said. “You could literally see it. Everyone you saw there was bloated because of all the things that are in the water.”

Ford intends to take the mission to an even more charitable level, with plans to donate $100 to Water Mission for each homer he hits this season, beginning with his big blast in last Saturday’s Cactus League game. Ford will accompany a social media post with each as well to spread awareness about the initiative.

Friday night’s Spring Breakout game is another opportunity to go yard and get the word out. Ford is among many within Seattle’s No. 5-ranked farm system that will be headlining the prospect showcase event in its second year.

"Harry has a huge heart, no question,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “And he's a guy that cares about people. He cares about helping people, and he understands the platform that baseball gives him to do that, and he likes to take advantage of that.”

Wilson has shared a special connection with Ford, dating back to when Ford was selected by Seattle in the first round of the 2021 Draft while Wilson was a special assignment coach on the Minors side.

The bond was natural from the outset -- they related to playing the same position, making community impact and being stewards of their faith.

Ford and Wilson spent much time together in 2022, when Ford was at Single-A Modesto and a big part of the team’s efforts to welcome the local Little League Challenger program, which supports individuals with physical and intellectual challenges. The following year, Ford received the Mariners’ Minor League Community Service Award -- named after Wilson.

"When you have that at a young age, and in a position that he's in, you can do a lot of good for people and make an impact on people's lives,” Wilson said. “And he takes that very seriously and does a great job with it. It's very impressive.”

On the field, Ford could be in for a big year in 2025, with the likelihood of beginning the year with a promotion to Triple-A Tacoma, where the Mariners believe there’s an opportunity for him to tap into more power. And there’s an added motivation, too, now that he has a charitable effort that will benefit from him hitting more homers, near and dear to his heart.